Media convergence platform

ABSTRACT

Device capabilities, media rights, and content are managed using a convergence platform to allow seamless consumption of content across disparate devices. Media content can be paused on one device having a particular set of capabilities and rights and resumed on a different device having another set of capabilities and rights. A user can play media on a mobile device, continue playing the media on a desktop computer, and subsequently move to a large screen television and capabilities and rights are automatically identified to seamlessly provide the most appropriate authorized content. Personalized media content information can be provided based on maintained information for user playback stoppage events and the user can resume playback of any number of media streams.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION

This application claims the benefit of priority under 35 U.S.C. §119(e)to U.S. Provisional Application No. 61/389,146 (MOBIP061P), titled“CONVERGENCE PLATFORM,” filed Oct. 1, 2010, the entirety of which isincorporated in its entirety by this reference for all purposes.

TECHNICAL FIELD

The present disclosure relates to a media convergence platform.

DESCRIPTION OF RELATED ART

Media is commonly available on multiple devices. A set top box may beconfigured to receive a particular set of channels. Different viewersusing the same set top box can all view those channels regardless ofwhat the set top box is connected to. Some content available on the settop box may also be available on a computer system or a mobile device.

However, mechanisms for managing content consumption across platformsare limited. Consequently, it is desirable to provide a convergenceplatform.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The disclosure may best be understood by reference to the followingdescription taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, whichillustrate particular embodiments.

FIG. 1 illustrates one example of a fragmentation system.

FIG. 2 illustrates one example of a fragmentation system.

FIG. 3 illustrates examples of files stored by the fragment writer.

FIG. 4 illustrates an interaction for a client receiving a live stream.

FIG. 5 illustrates one example of a technique for delivering mediastream fragments.

FIG. 6 illustrates one technique for performing quality adjustment usinga fragmented media stream.

FIG. 7 illustrates one example of convergence platform operation.

FIG. 8 illustrates one example of a fragment server.

DESCRIPTION OF EXAMPLE EMBODIMENTS

Reference will now be made in detail to some specific examples of theinvention including the best modes contemplated by the inventors forcarrying out the invention. Examples of these specific embodiments areillustrated in the accompanying drawings. While the invention isdescribed in conjunction with these specific embodiments, it will beunderstood that it is not intended to limit the invention to thedescribed embodiments. On the contrary, it is intended to coveralternatives, modifications, and equivalents as may be included withinthe spirit and scope of the invention as defined by the appended claims.

For example, the techniques of the present invention will be describedin the context of a particular type of encoding. However, it should benoted that the techniques of the present invention apply to a widevariety of encoding mechanisms. In the following description, numerousspecific details are set forth in order to provide a thoroughunderstanding of the present invention. Particular example embodimentsof the present invention may be implemented without some or all of thesespecific details. In other instances, well known process operations havenot been described in detail in order not to unnecessarily obscure thepresent invention.

Various techniques and mechanisms of the present invention willsometimes be described in singular form for clarity. However, it shouldbe noted that some embodiments include multiple iterations of atechnique or multiple instantiations of a mechanism unless notedotherwise. For example, a system uses a processor in a variety ofcontexts. However, it will be appreciated that a system can use multipleprocessors while remaining within the scope of the present inventionunless otherwise noted. Furthermore, the techniques and mechanisms ofthe present invention will sometimes describe a connection between twoentities. It should be noted that a connection between two entities doesnot necessarily mean a direct, unimpeded connection, as a variety ofother entities may reside between the two entities. For example, aprocessor may be connected to memory, but it will be appreciated that avariety of bridges and controllers may reside between the processor andmemory. Consequently, a connection does not necessarily mean a direct,unimpeded connection unless otherwise noted.

Overview

Device capabilities, media rights, and content are managed using aconvergence platform to allow seamless consumption of content acrossdisparate devices. Media content can be paused on one device having aparticular set of capabilities and rights and resumed on a differentdevice having another set of capabilities and rights. A user can playmedia on a mobile device, continue playing the media on a desktopcomputer, and subsequently move to a large screen television andcapabilities and rights are automatically identified to seamlesslyprovide the most appropriate authorized content. Personalized mediacontent information can be provided based on maintained information foruser playback stoppage events and the user can resume playback of anynumber of media streams.

Example Embodiments

Capabilities, rights, and content are managed using a convergenceplatform to allow seamless consumption of content across disparatedevices. A set top box is authenticated to receive certain channelpackages. A digital video disc (DVD) player is authenticated to playDVDs for a particular region. A television receives broadcasts of gamesthat are not under black out for the region. However, it is recognizedright management can be more fine tuned than rough rights managementusing device or regional authentication. For example, a user watching aprogram on a single user mobile device may want to seamlessly continuewatching the program on a multiple user large screen television that mayor may not reside in the same geographic region. Conventionalauthentication and media rights management mechanisms do not efficientlyhandle authentication and authorization across multiple disparatedevices in a variety of locations, some of which may be shared bymultiple users.

According to various embodiments, user authorization and deviceauthentication are separated. In particular embodiments, a user isauthorized on multiple devices or multiple devices may be registered sothat user impact is minimal. On a multiple user device such as a set topbox, a user can log in for every session or for as along as the deviceis operating. A particular pin or password may be used on a set top boxfor the user to access personalized content or content particular to theuser.

In particular embodiments, content is managed so that there is anidentification of what the user is authorized to view on what devices atwhat quality levels and when. In some examples, a user may be authorizedto view an entire channel package in low resolution but only particularchannels in high resolution. In other examples, a user may be authorizedto view a particular program on a personalized device such as a mobilephone or a computer but not on a multiple user device such as a set topbox. In still other examples, a user may be allowed to view a programfor a week on a large screen television using WiFi but forever on amobile device. In yet other examples, a user may be able to access aringtone version of a piece of media content but not a full version ofthe content.

According to various embodiments, a user may have unlimited access toall content across all devices but only when the user is in the vicinityof the device based on mobile device location data. In particularembodiments, authorizing a service includes keeping track of whatproducts, channel packages, content packages, media programs, etc., thatthe user has purchased or rented and for how many devicessimultaneously. In some examples, content may be authorized only if thedevice is located in a particular area, and black outs could be managedby limiting content in certain locations but allowing the same contentwhen a mobile device moves to another region. Black outs could also bemanaged by allowing payment for viewing in a region under black outrestrictions.

According to various embodiments, the same digital rights management(DRM) technology is used on all platforms. In particular embodiments,content is purchased with a particular level of rights. The contentpurchased is associated with fields that identify the level of rightsfor the user. In particular embodiments, a user may have purchased atelevision program at a particular quality level and resolution forviewing on up to two devices simultaneously for ever. In anotherexample, a user may have purchased a movie at all quality levels forviewing on any one authenticated device.

A variety of mechanisms are used to deliver media streams to devices. Inparticular examples, a client establishes a session such as a Real-TimeStreaming Protocol (RTSP) session. A server computer receives aconnection for a media stream, establishes a session, and provides amedia stream to a client device. The media stream includes packetsencapsulating frames such as MPEG-4 frames. The MPEG-4 frames themselvesmay be key frames or differential frames. The specific encapsulationmethodology used by the server depends on the type of content, theformat of that content, the format of the payload, and the applicationand transmission protocols being used to send the data. After the clientdevice receives the media stream, the client device decapsulates thepackets to obtain the MPEG frames and decodes the MPEG frames to obtainthe actual media data.

Conventional MPEG-4 files require that a player parse the entire headerbefore any of the data can be decoded. Parsing the entire header cantake a notable amount of time, particularly on devices with limitednetwork and processing resources. Consequently, the techniques andmechanisms of the present invention provide a fragmented MPEG-4framework that allows playback upon receiving a first MPEG-4 filefragment. A second MPEG-4 file fragment can be requested usinginformation included in the first MPEG-4 file fragment. According tovarious embodiments, the second MPEG-4 file fragment requested may be afragment corresponding to a higher or lower bit-rate stream than thestream associated with the first file fragment.

MPEG-4 is an extensible container format that does not have a fixedstructure for describing media types. Instead, MPEG-4 has an objecthierarchy that allows custom structures to be defined for each format.The format description is stored in the sample description (‘stsd’) boxfor each stream. The sample description box may include information thatmay not be known until all data has been encoded. For example, thesample description box may include an average bit rate that is not knownprior to encoding.

According to various embodiments, MPEG-4 files are fragmented so that alive stream can be recorded and played back in a close to live manner.MPEG-4 files can be created without having to wait until all content iswritten to prepare the movie headers. To allow for MPEG-4 fragmentationwithout out of band signaling, a box structure is provided to includesynchronization information, end of file information, and chapterinformation. According to various embodiments, synchronizationinformation is used to synchronize audio and video when playback entailsstarting in the middle of a stream. End of file information signals whenthe current program or file is over. This may include information tocontinue streaming the next program or file. Chapter information may beused for video on demand content that is broken up into chapters,possibly separated by advertisement slots.

TCP is more widely used than UDP and networking technologies includingswitch, load balancer, and network card technologies are more developedfor TCP than for UDP. Consequently, techniques and mechanisms areprovided for delivering fragmented live media over TCP. Sequenceinformation is also maintained and/or modified to allow seamless clientdevice operation. Timing and sequence information in a media stream ispreserved.

Requests are exposed as separate files to clients and files shouldplayback on players that handle fragmented MPEG-4. Live or near live,video on demand (VOD), and digital video record (DVR) content can all behandled using fragmentation.

According to various embodiments, playback stoppage is detected at acontent server or fragmentation server. In some examples, a device sendsa playback stoppage request. In other examples, a content server detectsthat a subsequent fragment request has not been received. The contentserver maintains user information and media stream position information.In some examples, the content server also maintains device informationand quality or bit rate data. When a request for a fragment or a resumerequest is received from the same device, or from a different deviceassociated with the same user, the content server identifies bit rateand the media stream along with the appropriate fragment to send to theuser. The fragment may correspond to media data transmitted in the pastas a live feed and may no longer be live, but the user is able tocontinue viewing the media stream in a seamless manner at a resolutionappropriate for a current viewing device.

The request from the device may include a bit rate and resolution, or acontent server may identify an appropriate bit rate and resolution usingdevice information. A resume request along with a desired bit rate mayalso be received from a different device associated with a user.Fragments maintained at a content server may be used to respond torequests from numerous users on a variety of devices requesting playbackof media streams at different points in time and at different qualitylevels. According to various embodiments, fragments can be maintainedonce at different quality levels and cached efficiently even though avariety of disparate requests for the same or different media streamswill be received.

FIG. 1 is a diagrammatic representation illustrating one example of afragmentation system 101 associated with a content server that can usethe techniques and mechanisms of the present invention. Encoders 105receive media data from satellite, content libraries, and other contentsources and sends RTP multicast data to fragment writer 109. Theencoders 105 also send session announcement protocol (SAP) announcementsto SAP listener 121. According to various embodiments, the fragmentwriter 109 creates fragments for live streaming, and writes files todisk for recording. The fragment writer 109 receives RTP multicaststreams from the encoders 105 and parses the streams to repackage theaudio/video data as part of fragmented MPEG-4 files. When a new programstarts, the fragment writer 109 creates a new MPEG-4 file on fragmentstorage and appends fragments. In particular embodiments, the fragmentwriter 109 supports live and/or DVR configurations.

The fragment server 111 provides the caching layer with fragments forclients. The design philosophy behind the client/server API minimizesround trips and reduces complexity as much as possible when it comes todelivery of the media data to the client 115. The fragment server 111provides live streams and/or DVR configurations.

The fragment controller 107 is connected to application servers 103 andcontrols the fragmentation of live channel streams. The fragmentationcontroller 107 optionally integrates guide data to drive the recordingsfor a global/network DVR. In particular embodiments, the fragmentcontroller 107 embeds logic around the recording to simplify thefragment writer 109 component. According to various embodiments, thefragment controller 107 will run on the same host as the fragment writer109. In particular embodiments, the fragment controller 107 instantiatesinstances of the fragment writer 109 and manages high availability.

According to various embodiments, the client 115 uses a media componentthat requests fragmented MPEG-4 files, allows trick-play, and managesbandwidth adaptation. The client communicates with the applicationservices associated with HTTP proxy 113 to get guides and present theuser with the recorded content available.

FIG. 2 illustrates one example of a fragmentation system 201 that can beused for video on demand content. Fragger 203 takes an encoded videoclip source. However, the commercial encoder does not create an outputfile with minimal object oriented framework (MOOF) headers and insteadembeds all content headers in the movie file (MOOV). The fragger readsthe input file and creates an alternate output that has been fragmentedwith MOOF headers, and extended with custom headers that optimize theexperience and act as hints to servers.

The fragment server 211 provides the caching layer with fragments forclients. The design philosophy behind the client/server API minimizesround trips and reduces complexity as much as possible when it comes todelivery of the media data to the client 215. The fragment server 211provides VoD content.

According to various embodiments, the client 215 uses a media componentthat requests fragmented MPEG-4 files, allows trick-play, and managesbandwidth adaptation. The client communicates with the applicationservices associated with HTTP proxy 213 to get guides and present theuser with the recorded content available.

FIG. 3 illustrates examples of files stored by the fragment writer.According to various embodiments, the fragment writer is a component inthe overall fragmenter. It is a binary that uses command line argumentsto record a particular program based on either NTP time from the encodedstream or wallclock time. In particular embodiments, this isconfigurable as part of the arguments and depends on the input stream.When the fragment writer completes recording a program it exits. Forlive streams, programs are artificially created to be short timeintervals e.g. 5-15 minutes in length.

According to various embodiments, the fragment writer command linearguments are the SDP file of the channel to record, the start time, endtime, name of the current and next output files. The fragment writerlistens to RTP traffic from the live video encoders and rewrites themedia data to disk as fragmented MPEG-4. According to variousembodiments, media data is written as fragmented MPEG-4 as defined inMPEG-4 part 12 (ISO/IEC 14496-12). Each broadcast show is written todisk as a separate file indicated by the show ID (derived from EPG).Clients include the show ID as part of the channel name when requestingto view a prerecorded show. The fragment writer consumes each of thedifferent encodings and stores them as a different MPEG-4 fragment.

In particular embodiments, the fragment writer writes the RTP data for aparticular encoding and the show ID field to a single file. Inside thatfile, there is metadata information that describes the entire file (MOOVblocks). Atoms are stored as groups of MOOF/MDAT pairs to allow a showto be saved as a single file. At the end of the file there is randomaccess information that can be used to enable a client to performbandwidth adaptation and trick play functionality.

According to various embodiments, the fragment writer includes an optionwhich encrypts fragments to ensure stream security during the recordingprocess. The fragment writer will request an encoding key from thelicense manager. The keys used are similar to that done for DRM. Theencoding format is slightly different where MOOF is encoded. Theencryption occurs once so that it does not create prohibitive costsduring delivery to clients.

The fragment server responds to HTTP requests for content. According tovarious embodiments, it provides APIs that can be used by clients to getnecessary headers required to decode the video, seek to any desired timeframe within the fragment and APIs to watch channels live. Effectively,live channels are served from the most recently written fragments forthe show on that channel. The fragment server returns the media header(necessary for initializing decoders), particular fragments, and therandom access block to clients. According to various embodiments, theAPIs supported allow for optimization where the metadata headerinformation is returned to the client along with the first fragment. Thefragment writer creates a series of fragments within the file. When aclient requests a stream, it makes requests for each of these fragmentsand the fragment server reads the portion of the file pertaining to thatfragment and returns it to the client.

According to various embodiments, the fragment server uses a REST APIthat is cache friendly so that most requests made to the fragment servercan be cached. The fragment server uses cache control headers and ETagheaders to provide the proper hints to caches. This API also providesthe ability to understand where a particular user stopped playing and tostart play from that point (providing the capability for pause on onedevice and resume on another).

In particular embodiments, client requests for fragments follow thefollowing format:

http://{HOSTNAME}/frag/{CHANNEL}/{BITRATE}/[{ID}/]{COMMAND}[/{ARG}] e.g.http://frag.hosttv.com/frag/1/H8QVGAH264/1270059632.mp4/fragment/42.According to various embodiments, the channel name will be the same asthe backend-channel name that is used as the channel portion of the SDPfile. VoD uses a channel name of “vod”. The BITRATE should follow theBITRATE/RESOLUTION identifier scheme used for RTP streams. The ID isdynamically assigned. For live streams, this may be the UNIX timestamp;for DVR this will be a unique ID for the show; for VoD this will be theasset ID. The ID is optional and not included in LIVE command requests.The command and argument are used to indicate the exact command desiredand any arguments. For example, to request chunk 42 this portion wouldbe “fragment/42”.

The URL format makes the requests content delivery network (CDN)friendly because the fragments will never change after this point so twoseparate clients watching the same stream can be serviced using a cache.In particular, the headend architecture leverages this to avoid too manydynamic requests arriving at the Fragment Server by using an HTTP proxyat the head end to cache requests.

According to various embodiments, the fragment controller is a daemonthat runs on the fragmenter and manages the fragment writer processes.We propose that it uses a configured filter that is executed by theFragment Controller to generate the list of broadcasts to be recorded.This filter integrates with external components such as a guide serverto determine which shows to record and the broadcast ID to use.

According to various embodiments, the client includes an applicationlogic component and a media rendering component. The application logiccomponent presents the UI for the user and also communicates to thefront-end server to get shows that are available for the user and toauthenticate. As part of this process, the server returns URLs to mediaassets that are passed to the media rendering component.

In particular embodiments, the client relies on the fact that eachfragment in a fragmented MP4 file has a sequence number. Using thisknowledge and a well defined URL structure for communicating with theserver, the client requests fragments individually as if it was readingseparate files from the server simply by requesting urls for filesassociated with increasing sequence numbers. In some embodiments, theclient can request files corresponding to higher or lower bit ratestreams depending on device and network resources.

Since each file contains the information needed to create the URL forthe next file, no special playlist files are needed, and all actions(startup, channel change, seeking) can be performed with a single HTTPrequest. After each fragment is downloaded the client assesses amongother things the size of the fragment and the time needed to download itin order to determine if downshifting is needed, or if there is enoughbandwidth available to request a higher bit rate.

Because each request to the server looks like a request to a separatefile, the response to requests can be cached in any HTTP Proxy, or bedistributed over any HTTP based CDN.

FIG. 4 illustrates an interaction for a client receiving a live stream.The client starts playback when fragment 41 plays out from the server.The client uses the fragment number so that it can request theappropriate subsequence file fragment. An application such as a playerapplication 407 sends a request to mediakit 405. The request may includea base address and bit rate. The mediakit 405 sends an HTTP get requestto caching layer 403. According to various embodiments, the liveresponse is not in cache, and the caching layer 403 forward the HTTP getrequest to a fragment server 401. The fragment server 401 performsprocessing and sends the appropriate fragment to the caching layer 403which forwards to the data to mediakit 405.

The fragment may be cached for a short period of time at caching layer403. The mediakit 405 identifies the fragment number and determineswhether resources are sufficient to play the fragment. In some examples,resources such as processing or bandwidth resources are insufficient.The fragment may not have been received quickly enough, or the devicemay be having trouble decoding the fragment with sufficient speed.Consequently, the mediakit 405 may request a next fragment having adifferent data rate. In some instances, the mediakit 405 may request anext fragment having a higher data rate. According to variousembodiments, the fragment server 401 maintains fragments for differentquality of service streams with timing synchronization information toallow for timing accurate playback.

The mediakit 405 requests a next fragment using information from thereceived fragment. According to various embodiments, the next fragmentfor the media stream may be maintained on a different server, may have adifferent bit rate, or may require different authorization. Cachinglayer 403 determines that the next fragment is not in cache and forwardsthe request to fragment server 401. The fragment server 401 sends thefragment to caching layer 403 and the fragment is cached for a shortperiod of time. The fragment is then sent to mediakit 405.

FIG. 5 illustrates one example of a technique for delivering mediastream fragments. According to various embodiments, a request for amedia stream is received from a client device at 501. In particularembodiments, the request is an HTTP GET request with a baseurl, bitrate, and file name. At 503, it is determined if any current fragmentsassociated with the requested media stream are available. According tovarious embodiments, fragments are cached for several minutes in acaching layer to allow for near live distribution of media streams. At505, the bit rate associated with the request is identified. Accordingto various embodiments, a current fragment for the media stream isobtained and sent with a fragment number and a box structure supportingsynchronization information, chapter information, and end of fileinformation at 507. It should be noted that not every fragment includessynchronization, chapter, and end of file information.

According to various embodiments, synchronization information is used tosynchronize audio and video when playback entails starting in the middleof a stream. End of file information signals when the current program orfile is over. This may include information to continue streaming thenext program or file. Chapter information may be used for video ondemand content that is broken up into chapters, possibly separated byadvertisement slots.

At 509, the transmitted fragment is maintained in cache for a limitedperiod of time. At 511, a request for a subsequent fragment is received.According to various embodiments, the subsequent fragment a fragmentnumber directly related to the fragment previously transmitted. In someexamples, the client device may request a different bit rate or mayrequest the same bit rate. At 513, it is determined if a fragment withthe appropriate fragment number is available in cache. Otherwise, thebit rate and fragment number are determined in order to obtain theappropriate fragment at 515. In some examples, the fragment number isone greater than the fragment number for the previous fragmenttransmitted.

In some examples, the client device may request a significantlydifferent fragment number corresponding to a different time index. Thisallows a client device to not only quality shift by requesting adifferent bit rate, but time shift as well by requesting a prior segmentalready transmitted previously. According to various embodiments, acurrent fragment for the media stream is obtained and sent with afragment number and a box structure supporting synchronizationinformation, chapter information, and end of file information at 517.

The system can then await requests for additional fragments associatedwith near live streams.

FIG. 6 illustrates one technique for performing quality adjustment usinga fragmented media stream. At 601, a request is received for a mediafragment from a client device. The request may be an HTTP GET requestincluding a particular bit rate and media identifier. At 605, a contentserver or fragment server identifies the bit rate and the media.According to various embodiments, the content server also identifies theuser and device to verify that the user is authorized to view the mediacontent on the particular device. In some examples, the user and deviceare identified to determine the appropriate quality media stream orversion of the media stream to provide to the client device. At 607, afragment is sent with a fragment number and a box structure supportingsynchronization information, chapter information, and end of fileinformation.

According to various embodiments, synchronization information is used tosynchronize audio and video when playback entails starting in the middleof a stream. End of file information signals when the current program orfile is over. This may include information to continue streaming thenext program or file. Chapter information may be used for video ondemand content that is broken up into chapters, possibly separated byadvertisement slots.

At 609, playback stoppage is identified. Playback stoppage may beidentified by a client device request to stop playback. In otherembodiments, playback stoppage may be identified when a content serverdoes not receive a request for additional media fragments within apredetermined period of time from the client device. In still otherembodiments, playback stoppage may be identified when a content serverdoes not receive an appropriate acknowledgement from a client device. At611, user and media position information is maintained. In someembodiments, bit rate, version, device, and other quality and locationinformation can be maintained.

At 613, a request for a subsequent media fragment is received from auser. According to various embodiments, the request is received from adifferent device, or may be received over network conditions that nowsupport a different bit rate. At 615, the user, device, and bit rateauthorized are identified. According to various embodiments, user andmedia position information is obtained. At 617, the fragment with asubsequent fragment number corresponding to the maintained mediaposition information is sent with a box structure supportingsynchronization information, chapter information, and end of fileinformation. In some examples, not all synchronization information,chapter information, and end of file information needs to be sent. Insome examples, the box structure may only include synchronizationinformation while supporting but not including other types ofinformation.

FIG. 7 illustrates one example of convergence platform operation.According to various embodiments, devices are provided with a controlsoverlay at 701 to allow playback continuation or resumption on anotherdevice at 703. At 705, position and content information for the user ismaintained in a personalized media datastore. In some examples, whenevera user hits stop or pause while viewing content, position information ismaintained in the personalized media datastore. When the user switchesdevices at 707, an option to resume content at the maintained positionis presented to the user at 709. In particular embodiments, apersonalized media datastore presentation can be activated at 711 todisplay all media content that can be resumed.

In particular embodiments, a user selects ‘OK/Info’ on remote to exposecontrols overlay. ‘Resume on another device’ is selected. A televisionset may be turned on and a confirmation message selected. A user maythen switch to a mobile and launch a player or application. According tovarious embodiments, the player opens with content paused at a pointselected on the television. The content can be resumed or played usingthe mobile device player controls. In some instances, the user canaccess a personal media store to identify other content that can beresumed.

In still other embodiments, a recording can be set on a particulardevice or mobile device and content viewing can occur on another device.According to various embodiments, a program guide can be selected on amobile device. A record option may be presented and selected. Theapplication can present a confirmation message. A personalizedrecordings listing can show recordings in progress. A user can thenswitch to another device if necessary to access content that has beenrecorded. Recordings can be resumed or played from the beginning.

According to various embodiments, a convergence platform provides acomplete managed service along with a solution that supports live, videoon demand, and downloaded media.

FIG. 8 illustrates one example of a fragment server. According toparticular embodiments, a system 800 suitable for implementingparticular embodiments of the present invention includes a processor801, a memory 803, an interface 811, and a bus 815 (e.g., a PCI bus orother interconnection fabric) and operates as a streaming server. Whenacting under the control of appropriate software or firmware, theprocessor 801 is responsible for modifying and transmitting live mediadata to a client. Various specially configured devices can also be usedin place of a processor 801 or in addition to processor 801. Theinterface 811 is typically configured to send and receive data packetsor data segments over a network.

Particular examples of interfaces supports include Ethernet interfaces,frame relay interfaces, cable interfaces, DSL interfaces, token ringinterfaces, and the like. In addition, various very high-speedinterfaces may be provided such as fast Ethernet interfaces, GigabitEthernet interfaces, ATM interfaces, HSSI interfaces, POS interfaces,FDDI interfaces and the like. Generally, these interfaces may includeports appropriate for communication with the appropriate media. In somecases, they may also include an independent processor and, in someinstances, volatile RAM. The independent processors may control suchcommunications intensive tasks as packet switching, media control andmanagement.

According to various embodiments, the system 800 is a fragment serverthat also includes a transceiver, streaming buffers, and a program guidedatabase. The fragment server may also be associated with subscriptionmanagement, logging and report generation, and monitoring capabilities.In particular embodiments, functionality for allowing operation withmobile devices such as cellular phones operating in a particularcellular network and providing subscription management. According tovarious embodiments, an authentication module verifies the identity ofdevices including mobile devices. A logging and report generation moduletracks mobile device requests and associated responses. A monitor systemallows an administrator to view usage patterns and system availability.According to various embodiments, the fragment server 891 handlesrequests and responses for media content related transactions while aseparate streaming server provides the actual media streams.

Although a particular fragment server 891 is described, it should berecognized that a variety of alternative configurations are possible.For example, some modules such as a report and logging module 853 and amonitor 851 may not be needed on every server. Alternatively, themodules may be implemented on another device connected to the server. Inanother example, the server 891 may not include an interface to anabstract buy engine and may in fact include the abstract buy engineitself. A variety of configurations are possible.

In the foregoing specification, the invention has been described withreference to specific embodiments. However, one of ordinary skill in theart appreciates that various modifications and changes can be madewithout departing from the scope of the invention as set forth in theclaims below. Accordingly, the specification and figures are to beregarded in an illustrative rather than a restrictive sense, and allsuch modifications are intended to be included within the scope ofinvention.

The invention claimed is:
 1. A server, comprising: an interfaceconfigured to receive a user content stoppage event from a first device,the user content stoppage event associated with playback stoppagecorresponding to a first media stream; storage configured to maintainpersonalized media content datastore information, including positioninformation for the first media stream for the user, the personalizedmedia content datastore information maintained at a streaming server andincludes information regarding a user authorization level and a deviceauthorization level, wherein the user is authorized to view the firstmedia stream at a first quality level on the first device and authorizedto view the first media stream at a second quality level on a seconddevice but not authorized to view the first media stream at the firstquality level on the second device, wherein the first quality level ishigher quality than the second quality level; a processor configured toverify the user authorization level and the device authorization level,the combination of the user authorization level and the deviceauthorization level allowing the processor to determine whether the useris authorized to view the first media stream on the second device andwhether the user can view the first media stream at a particular qualitylevel on the second device, the second device being capable of playingcontent at both the first and second quality levels, wherein the user isonly authorized for viewing content at the second quality level on thesecond device even though the second device is capable of playingcontent at both the first and second quality levels; whereinpersonalized media content datastore information is sent to the seconddevice, the personalized media content datastore information including aplurality of programs that can be resumed by the user on the seconddevice, wherein the user is not authorized to resume programs on thesecond device that are not included in the plurality of programs.
 2. Thesystem of claim 1, wherein the first device is a mobile device and thesecond device is a set top box.
 3. The system of claim 1, wherein thefirst device is a set top box and the second device is a mobile device.4. The system of claim 1, wherein an option to resume content atmaintained position information is presented to the user.
 5. The systemof claim 1, wherein position information for the first media stream ismaintained for a plurality of users.
 6. The system of claim 1, whereinthe first media stream is a first video stream.
 7. The system of claim1, wherein the streaming server is associated with a fragment server. 8.The system of claim 1, wherein a request from the user is received uponauthenticating the user at the second device.
 9. The system of claim 8,wherein the user is authenticated at the second device by detecting thepresence of the first device in close proximity to the second device.10. A method, comprising: receiving a user content stoppage event from afirst device, the user content stoppage event associated with playbackstoppage corresponding to a first media stream; maintaining personalizedmedia content datastore information, including position information forthe first media stream for the user, the personalized media contentdatastore information maintained at a streaming server and includesinformation regarding a user authorization level and a deviceauthorization level, wherein the user is authorized to view the firstmedia stream at a first quality level on the first device and authorizedto view the first media stream at a second quality level on a seconddevice but not authorized to view the first media stream at the firstquality level on the second device, wherein the first quality level ishigher quality than the second quality level; receiving a request fromthe user at the second device and verifying the user authorization leveland the device authorization level, the combination of the userauthorization level and the device authorization level allowing theprocessor to determine whether the user is authorized to view the firstmedia stream on the second device and whether the user can view thefirst media stream at a particular quality level on the second device,the second device being capable of playing content at both the first andsecond quality levels, wherein the user is only authorized for viewingcontent at the second quality level on the second device even though thesecond device is capable of playing content at both the first and secondquality levels; sending personalized media content datastore informationto the second device, the personalized media content datastoreinformation including a plurality of programs that can be resumed by theuser on the second device, wherein the user is not authorized to resumeprograms on the second device that are not included in the plurality ofprograms.
 11. The method of claim 10, wherein the first device is amobile device and the second device is a set top box.
 12. The method ofclaim 10, wherein the first device is a set top box and the seconddevice is a mobile device.
 13. The method of claim 10, wherein an optionto resume content at maintained position information is presented to theuser.
 14. The method of claim 10, wherein position information for thefirst media stream is maintained for a plurality of users.
 15. Themethod of claim 10, wherein the first media stream is a first videostream.
 16. The method of claim 10, wherein the streaming server isassociated with a fragment server.
 17. The method of claim 10, whereinthe request from the user is received upon authenticating the user atthe second device.
 18. The method of claim 17, wherein the user isauthenticated at the second device by detecting the presence of thefirst device in close proximity to the second device.
 19. An apparatus,comprising: means for receiving a user content stoppage event from afirst device, the user content stoppage event associated with playbackstoppage corresponding to a first media stream; means for maintainingpersonalized media content datastore information, including positioninformation for the first media stream for the user, the personalizedmedia content datastore information maintained at a streaming server andincludes information regarding a user authorization level and a deviceauthorization level, wherein the user is authorized to view the firstmedia stream at a first quality level on the first device and authorizedto view the first media stream at a second quality level on a seconddevice but not authorized to view the first media stream at the firstquality level on the second device, wherein the first quality level ishigher quality than the second quality level; means for receiving arequest from the user at the second device and verifying the userauthorization level and the device authorization level, the combinationof the user authorization level and the device authorization levelallowing the processor to determine whether the user is authorized toview the first media stream on the second device and whether the usercan view the first media stream at a particular quality level on thesecond device, the second device being capable of playing content atboth the first and second quality levels, wherein the user is onlyauthorized for viewing content at the second quality level on the seconddevice even though the second device is capable of playing content atboth the first and second quality levels; means for sending personalizedmedia content datastore information to the second device, thepersonalized media content datastore information including a pluralityof programs that can be resumed by the user on the second device,wherein the user is not authorized to resume programs on the seconddevice that are not included in the plurality of programs.
 20. Theapparatus of claim 19, wherein the first device is a mobile device andthe second device is a set top box.